Hell was almost let loose on Tuesday, November 22, when the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Audu Ogbeh, openly debunked President Muhammadu Buhari’s stance, that Nigeria may witness famine from early next year.

Recall, that Buhari through his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, had in a recent radio interview in Kano, warned that Nigeria, one of the largest producers of cereals, is in danger of witnessing famine from early next year, following huge demand in the global market.

He had said that the demand of grains from Nigeria in the global market, was generating an “excellent environment for the mindless exports of Nigeria’s food across the borders’’, and warned that unless it was curtailed, that the Nigerian markets would be bereft of grains by January.

However, on the contrary, Ogbeh, on Tuesday, assured that the Federal Government has put needed measures in place, to forestall hunger and famine in the country.

“There will be no hunger. It is just that there is heavy export of our grains to North, West, and Central Africa. However, we are taking steps to ensure enough food in the next harvest,” Ogbeh said.

According to the Minister, the Federal Government is unrelentingly working to develop, and establish more dams and lakes, to aid irrigation farming, and to have three harvests within one year.

He added, that the government had provided no fewer than 33 silos, with capacity to store over four million tonnes of grains, as a measure to preserve excess grains.

Critics however, are increasingly beginning to perceive Nigerian public officials, as masters of double speak, and see Ogbeh’s reaction, as a desperate response to a major communication blunder by Buhari’s Spokesman.